CHAPTER 2: USING KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGY TO INCREASE TEACHER COLLABORATION

By: Danny Biro

Introduction

My literature review addresses the barriers and benefits of electronic collaboration and knowledge management, and the possible methods of implementation within a high school.

Definition of Terms

Knowledge Management: The method in

which an organization or institution accumulates and distributes its collective knowledge (Carroll, Choo, Dunlap, Isenhour Kerr, MacLean, & Rosson, 2003).

Definition of Terms

Electronic Environment: The use of the

Internet, e-mail, or any other computer-based technology (Suntisukwongchote, 2006).

Definition of Terms

Communities of Practice: Communities where

“collective learning results in practices that reflect both the pursuit of our enterprises and the attendant social relations (Wenger, 1997, p. 38).”

Search Methodology Most of the literature covering KM is

weighted towards business when being compared to education, especially at the high school level.

A ProQuest search for: “’Knowledge management’ in business”

produced 5047 scholarly journal articles “’Knowledge management’ in college,”

produced 494 scholarly journal articles “’Knowledge management’ in ‘high

school’” produced 17 scholarly journal articles

Barriers of Electronic Collaboration and Knowledge Management Availability of technology for teacher

use Suntisukwongchote (2006) discovered:

42% of teachers at 16 high schools in Western Austrialia had daily access to computers

32% had their own e-mail address

Barriers of Electronic Collaboration and Knowledge Management How many teachers know how to use

current technology? Suntisukwongchote (2006) discovered:

55% are comfortable using current technology

29% described themselves as beginners

Barriers of Electronic Collaboration and Knowledge Management Isolation and lack of

time Teachers are isolated

in there classrooms and rarely share the same prep period with other members in their department.

Teachers are given very little time to collaborate

Barriers of Electronic Collaboration and Knowledge Management Some teachers

refuse to share their knowledge because: Knowledge is

“sacred” They feel they are

undereducated and are afraid of being criticized by their peers

Quiz Time: Which of the following is not a barrier of electronic collaboration and knowledge management? A. IsolationB. Lack of timeC. Too much technology is availableD. Too little technology is available E. Teachers refuse to share their

knowledge

Quiz Time: Which of the following is not a barrier of electronic collaboration and knowledge management? A. IsolationB. Lack of timeC. Too much technology is availableD. Too little technology is available E. Teachers refuse to share their

knowledge

Benefits of Electronic Collaboration and Knowledge Management Using e-mail:

Gives the less vocal and assertive teachers a chance to express their ideas

Increases concise collaboration by reducing off-topic small talk

Benefits of Electronic Collaboration and Knowledge Management Increase

collaborative time and reduces wasted time

Wikis and Web sites are an easy and fast way to access and distribute lesson plans, assignments, and ideas

Incorporating Electronic Knowledge Management and Collaboration Top-down approach

Site or district administration introduces plans that restructures a school’s curriculum

Usually is not that effective because it does not give the teachers enough control over the implementation of the plan and/or gives them little ownership

Incorporating Electronic Knowledge Management and Collaboration Bottom-up approach

Begins with teachers collaborating within their own department on a particular goal which then evolves into school-wide collaboration where all the staff members develop a common goal (Carroll et al., 2003)

Gives teachers the freedom and responsibility to develop and implement an effective way for electron teacher collaboration and KM

Quiz Time: Which of the following is not a benefit of electronic collaboration and knowledge management?

A. Reduces timeB. Increases off-topic conversationsC. Increase collaborationD. Increases access to more resources

Quiz Time: Which of the following is not a benefit of electronic collaboration and knowledge management?

A. Reduces timeB. Increases off-topic conversationsC. Increase collaborationD. Increases access to more resources

Using a Wiki for Electronic Collaboration and Knowledge Management Wikis are a type of

open source software that are similar to a word processor which allows users to create their own wiki or add, if given permission, to the content of another author’s wiki (Sagotsky, Zhang, Wang, Martin, & Deisboeck, 2008).

Using a Wiki for Electronic Collaboration and Knowledge Management Wagner (2006) and Prasarnphanich &

Wagner (2009) Studies: Wanted to know if Wikipedia increases

collaboration and whether the sharing of knowledge is altruistic in nature

The results showed that most of Wikipedia’s authors contribute primarily for collaborative and altruistic reasons and that these practices may be applied to other wiki applications.

Using a Wiki for Electronic Collaboration and Knowledge Management Sheehy’s (2008) Study:

12 members of a high school language arts department participated

Used grant money to pay the 12 teachers for 2 hours of wiki training

Results: 7 of the 12 teachers said they would use the wiki for collaboration and knowledge management

Discrepancies in the Literature

Most of the literature covering electronic collaboration and KM discuss its use within the business community and, to a lesser extent, the college community.

The implementation of a high school department or school wide teacher collaborative Web site or wiki is almost completely absent from the literature.

Summary

The research on electronic collaboration and knowledge management (KM) within the high school environment appears to be in its infancy, therefore the benefits and barriers are still not entirely understood

Even though the bulk of the research on electronic collaboration and KM focuses on businesses, colleges, and collaborative Web sites and wikis, such as Wikipedia, Sheehy’s (2008) study does describe the potential of this technology within the high school setting

References

Carroll, J., Choo, C. W., Dunlap, D. R., Isenhour, P. L., Kerr, S. T., MacLean, A., & Rosson, M. B (2003). Knowledge Management Support for Teachers. Educational Technology, Research and Development, 51, (4), 42-64.

Prasarnphanich, P. & Wagner, C. (2009). The Role of Wiki Technology and Altruism in Collaborative Knowledge Creation. The Journal of Computer Information Systems, 49, (4), 33-41.

References

Sagotsky, J., Zhang, L., Wang, Z., Martin, S., & Deisboeck, T (2008). Life Sciences and the Web: A New Era for Collaboration. Molecular Systems Biology 4, 201, 1-10. doi:10.1038/msb.208.39

Sheehy, G (2008). The Wiki as Knowledge Repository: Using a Wiki in a Community of Practice to Strengthen K-12 Education. TechTrends, 52, (6), 55-60.

References

Suntisukwongchote, P (2006). Testing Models of Collaboration among High School Science Teachers in an Electronic Environment [electronic version]. The High School Journal, 89, (3), 22-33.

Wagner, C (2006). Breaking the Knowledge Acquisition Bottleneck Through Conversational Knowledge Management [electronic version]. Information Resources Management Journal, 19, 70-83.

Wenger, E (1997). Practice, Learning, Meaning, Identity. Training, 34, (2), 38-39.